External USB Hard Drive

[John]

I would like to regain some space on my PC's hard drive and am thinking of
getting an external hard drive - USB Powered, to store my photos and music.
Question: Could I also drag some of my less frequently used programmes (such
a Video Editing software - Pinnacle) onto the drive or would they have to
stay on the same drive as Windows (C:\)

 

[Old Enough]

I would like to regain some space on my PC's hard drive and am thinking of
getting an external hard drive - USB Powered, to store my photos and music.
Question: Could I also drag some of my less frequently used programmes (such
a Video Editing software - Pinnacle) onto the drive or would they have to
stay on the same drive as Windows (C:\)

John:
This is not really an answer, but it may help.
I have two physical hard drives in my computer. As expected, Windows
is on Drive C.
Because my C drive is small (20 Gig), virtually every program I added
to the computer, I installed on Drive D (the other phyical drive).

Seems to me you could do the same thing, as long as your USB drive is
always there - and always has the same drive letter assgined each time
when you boot up.

You may have to un-install the programs from C, and install them in
the new drive to get all the pointers correct.

Not a scientific answer, but my thoughts . . . .

Good Luck!

Have a blessed Christmas!
_________________________________
Old Enough
to know I don't know a thing ....

 

[Malke]

I would like to regain some space on my PC's hard drive and am thinking of
getting an external hard drive - USB Powered, to store my photos and music.
Question: Could I also drag some of my less frequently used programmes (such
a Video Editing software - Pinnacle) onto the drive or would they have to
stay on the same drive as Windows (C:\)

No. You can't run programs from an external hard drive. Getting an
external hard drive is a great idea for backing up your data. If, after
you do that (removing data from the C: drive after it is safely
elsewhere), you still need more room on the internal hard drive:

1. Uninstall programs you don't need; and/or
2. Purchase a second internal hard drive on which to install programs
(if feasible - obviously it isn't if you have a laptop); or
3. Replace the hard drive with a bigger one, using cloning software to
image the old drive to the new one. Keep the old one for extra storage
if desired.


Malke

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I would like to regain some space on my PC's hard drive and am thinking of
getting an external hard drive - USB Powered, to store my photos and music.
Question: Could I also drag some of my less frequently used programmes (such
a Video Editing software - Pinnacle) onto the drive or would they have to
stay on the same drive as Windows (C:\)

Neither of the above is correct. You can not install programs on an
external drive. Programs do not have to be installed on the same drive
as Windows.

You can install programs on a different drive, but it must be on an
internal drive.

 

[SG]

John,

Take a look at these two options as they may or may not meets your needs. I
do however think what you are wanting to do is just around the corner in
technology and we will have it soon.

http://www.everythingusb.com/mojopac.html

http://portableapps.com/
This one is FREE

--
All the best,
SG
How to Write a Newsgroup Post:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Usenet
Need your OEM Restore Disk?
http://restoredisks.com/

 

[Mistoffolees]

Neither of the above is correct. You can not install programs on an
external drive. Programs do not have to be installed on the same drive
as Windows.

You can install programs on a different drive, but it must be on an
internal drive.

Not entirely true. Programs can be run from removable, external
drives. But the caveats are that they cannot have entries in the
Windows Registry nor have any shortcuts on the Desktop or via any
other program that is embedded into Windows.

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

Not entirely true. Programs can be run from removable, external
drives. But the caveats are that they cannot have entries in the
Windows Registry nor have any shortcuts on the Desktop or via any
other program that is embedded into Windows.

That's strange: I've installed various games (as well as Microsoft Office) on
external drives before, and had none of your problems.

Also, I suggest purchasing an eSATA drive, rather than USB (if you have an eSATA
connection somewhere on your machine). It will be MUCH faster(~3GB/sec transfer
speed, rather than 400MB/sec). Additionally, they are sometimes less expensive
than USB drives. Shop around.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Not entirely true.

Correct, but...

Programs can be run from removable, external
drives. But the caveats are that they cannot have entries in the
Windows Registry

....since that restriction rules out the enormous majority of Windows
programs, from a practical standpoint, it's close enough to being true
that I made the statement without bothering to point out the very
minor exception.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Correct, but...




...since that restriction rules out the enormous majority of Windows
programs, from a practical standpoint, it's close enough to being true
that I made the statement without bothering to point out the very
minor exception.

Agreed. Believe one reply is citing exceptions of external hard drives that
are never removed from the PC. I'll keep my opinion to myself regarding
that.
David